The Artist and the Shipwright
by SoaringFyreByrd
Summary: What if an 11 year old girl is left behind in Water 7 and meets up with a shipwright's apprentice for a week or so then the two forget each other? And what if 6 years later, the two meet a second time, inevitably getting closer? Good questions. PaulyxOC
1. The Odd Girl

**A/N Hey everyone :D Here's my PaulyxOC story I've been busy writing. Water 7 is my fav arc and hey, Pauly's so awesome that he gets his own story XD So, read and review, and flames will be used to make smores. Oh, and I know Pauly's name is more commonly spelled Paulie, but it was spelled Pauly in a fan poll so I'm sticking to that. **

**Mmkay, randomness in the beginning. First chapter is where the setting is laid out, next two is Tallie's past and such (more like you see Tallie and Iceburg interact a lot), then the ones after is the story finally beginning. I was gonna have Iceburg be a small character, but he's too fun and I love writing Nmaa every other line or so XD**

**So, enjoy :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, because if I did, there'd be a lot more Water 7.**

A lone figure stood at the middle of the many steps above Dock 1 in Water 7. One could tell it was a girl looking over at the people of the city fixing houses and other buildings after the Aqua Laguna had hit almost a week prior. But what she was really looking for, with a hint of fear in her eyes someone could see only if they were looking for it, was a certain person from the Galley-La Company.

"You better not be dead," she said to herself out loud then rubbed her eyes, "stupid Pauly."

::One Year Earlier::

"I'm gonna kill him," I mumbled angrily as I wandered around Dock 1, feeling the midday sun beating down and hearing the squawks of seabirds. "Where's my damn sketchpad?" As I got up from looking behind a wooden crate only to see that my sketchpad was nowhere in sight, I brushed the few pieces of wood shavings off my green fitted tee and dark blue bermuda shorts. Reaching into my pants pocket, I pulled out a short black pencil, maybe four or so inches long, and began to twirl it absentmindedly between my fingers.

"I wish I hit him," I muttered aloud as I wandered around the dock, thinking about the person who kidnapped my pictures while I was drawing a ship being built. I guess he was about my age, seventeen.

"Looking for something?" I heard a conceited voice from behind me as I was looking in a coil of rope.

Whipping around, I came face to face with the thief. His fair brown curls swirled in front of his boyish face. "Give it back," I growled.

He just laughed cruelly and put the pad in front of my face, taunting me. "I don't think so," he said, pulling it away when I tried to grab it. "You'll have to get it yourself."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is, you have to be able to catch me is you want your precious drawings back." He then took off, me following closely behind. People and ships whizzed by as we ran passed. Suddenly, he tossed the sketchpad in the air and continued off, leaving the fate of the book to me.

_Don't fall in the dirt, don't fall in the dirt,_ I thought as I reached up in the air, hoping my drawing didn't slip through my fingers. _Please don't fall in the dirt._

"Got i-ack!" My yell of relief turned into a scream of surprise as I collided with something and tumbled to the ground. Well, as I collided with _someone_ that is.

"You alright?" the person asked after he stood and came to where I fell to help me up as well.

"Yeah, I think so," I took his outstretched hand and got to my feet. He was tall; the top of my head only came up to his chin. His shoulder length blond hair was brushed back with a pair of orange goggles on top of his forehead. He wore a blue denim jacket, with dark reddish purple flames on the bottom of the sleeves, over a yellow shirt with a swirl in the middle, blue jeans with pockets on the sides and black boots. Hanging off to his right side was a brown pouch and he had a cigar clenched between his teeth.

"You almost dropped this," he said as he handed me my sketchpad. "Landed on me when we fell." My eyes lit up when I saw that it was unscathed.

"Thanks," I said, twirling my pencil again, this time in excitement, "but I've got to go before the ship leaves, or else I'll never finish." I sprinted off back towards where I began, leaving a confused shipwright behind me.

"Nmaa, I see you've met Tallie," a man asked said shipwright. He was a bit older and had dark blue hair with a small curl at the end. Inside the breast pocket of his red horizontal stripped jacket was a small, white mouse. "Though, you've met her before," he said, a finger on his chin.

"Oh, hey Iceburg-san, but, what're you talking about?" the younger man asked, clearly confused; it was apparent he couldn't remember meeting the odd girl.

"Nmaa, she might not remember either," Iceburg shrugged. "She most likely wanted to forget Dock 1 when she was little."

"You're not making any sense," the shipwright said blankly to the other man.

"It doesn't really matter." And with that, Iceburg walked away, leaving the shipwright wondering what had just happened.

* * *

It was the next day, about late afternoon, and I was yet again wandering around Dock 1. _This place is too big,_ I thought, blaming the size of the dock instead of me not knowing where to go.

_Where's Iceburg-san?_ The sun didn't seem to be as hot today, and it was getting even windier. _Storm might be coming,_ I thought as I continued to meander. All of a sudden, I saw the shipwright I had bumped (more like crashed) into.

"Hey...you!" I called out, realizing I didn't _actually_ know him. It was apparent he hadn't heard me either, so I ran up and tapped him on the shoulder. Well, I would have just tapped him if I hadn't tripped over a rock (which is really quite pathetic), causing me to fall straight into him, knocking both of us over yet again.

"I'm _really_ sorry," I groaned as he stood up. "I was trying to get your attention and I, uh, tripped."

"S'okay," he replied as he dusted himself off and came to help me up for the second time in as many days.

"So, uh, do you know where Iceburg-san is? I need to give him these." I waved a small packet of paper.

"Ah, yeah, he was just here a second ago," he answered, looking around distractedly, then, apparently seeing something, pointed off to where a nearby ship was being repaired. "He's right there. Seems like he's seen you though; he's walking back over here now."

"Iceburg-san!" I called happily to the thirty-seven-year-old when he got closer. "I finished the pictures." I passed over the bundle to him.

"Nma, these are excellent," he said after he looked at each one while I grinned at his praise.

"Thanks." Before he turned to talk to the other shipwright (who I refuse to run into again, because three times is just creepy), I reached out for Tyrannosaurus, Iceburg's pet mouse that could always be found in his suit's pocket. He handed the small, white animal over (to which I smiled, petting the mouse's head) and said, "Nmaa, Pauly, could you do me a favor and bring these over to Kalifa at HQ? She has frames for the pictures to go in."

"I'm gonna go too Iceburg-san," I told him, tipping Tyrannosaurus into his breast pocket. "I left one of my sketchpads there."

He nodded, then put a finger to his partly smiling lips, as if hinting me to be quiet. "Just don't tell Kalifa that you saw me. I decided to ditch today."

I couldn't help but laugh, "No problem." Waving goodbye to Iceburg, I turned around and followed the blond haired man. "Pauly right?" I asked, falling into step with the older shipwright, though only by a few years from what I could tell.

"Yup. Iceburg told me you were Tallie I think."

"The one and only," I smiled, tucking my fair, brown colored bangs behind my ears, then fluffing the rest of my short jagged hair, only about three or so inches long. "I've no idea how you know where you're going around here."

Pauly just turned and looked incredulously at me, signature cigar between his teeth. "You're kidding right? It's basically all one path straight to Galley-La Headquarters." My mouth hung open from the obviousness of it as I looked around. Sure enough, the areas I though were hard to find my way around easily led to the main path.

"No way," I dragged. "I'm...retarded. I got so into drawing I never realized how simple the layout was."

So caught up in my (very stupid) realization, I didn't notice how I had lagged behind. That was, until I felt cold metal against my throat.

"Uh, Pauly, I think we've got a situation."

* * *

"We've got a situation," he heard, though it was too far behind him than it should have been for someone who had, a few seconds before, been trailing on his heels. Turning around, Pauly saw Tallie had been taken captive by the pirate captain whose boat he and the others just fixed.

"Silence girl," he hissed, pressing the dagger a fraction closer to her neck, "unless you feel like dying."

"Oi!" Pauly called to him, placing the pictures on a nearby pile of wood. "What do you think you're doing?"

The pirate just grinned at him. "Well, I don't feel like paying. So, I thought of the grandest plan when I saw this girl walkin' by, head in the clouds. Only question left is, what do you want more? Payment or this kid's life?"

"You're an idiot," Tallie stated. "Either way, you're getting your ass kicked. Killing me has no point, since I'm basically your shield."

"You don't value your life much, huh girly?" that captain said, pushing the knife so that it cut into her neck. Pauly could see that, despite Tallie's evident nonchalance, her eyes showed the real terror she felt.

_Ah, just the person I need._

"Rope Action: Top Knot!" he yelled, ropes rapidly snaking out from the sleeves of his jacket, spiraling up and around Tallie and the pirate, who dropped his dagger out of surprise. "Kaku," Pauly then called to the long, square nosed man who had arrived a few seconds prior, "make sure she doesn't hurt herself."

And with that, he pulled the ropes back.

* * *

I definitely don't ever recall spinning this fast _ever_ in my life. I don't think I want to experience it again either. But, a split second after Pauly pulled the ropes and sent me spinning like a top, another person came out of nowhere and brought me to the ground gently to let the dizziness pass, rather than me falling on my face.

Apparently, the pirate had no such luck. At least I assumed so since I heard something heavy fall to the ground. My eyes were safely shut so I didn't have to see the world spinning around me.

"Are you well?" I heard a voice, so I unwillingly opened my eyes. It was the long nosed guy. He had orange hair from what I could see under his cap, and an orange and blue shirt with a high collar. Pauly was standing a few feet away, picking up the pictures again.

I sat up and groaned, "If you didn't just save me I'd probably barf on you. Question answered?"

He just lightly laughed.


	2. Beginnings

****

A/N: Heylo everyone ^-^ Well, 30 or so people seem to have read this, which makes me feel better when I saw no reviews XDD So here be the second chapter. *cough* reviews would be awesome *cough*

**First things first** **though, not much info is given in the manga concerning ages and etc, excluding Iceburg. So, just so my story makes a bit more sense, I want to give you a brief timline of how old everyone is:  
-Taking into account that Kaku said he was 23, then later on called Pauly a 'brat' I'm gonna say that Pauly is younger than Kaku, so I went with 22. This makes sense because when the sea train left 12 years ago, Pauly was 10. (he runs alongside the train as a child, so 10 seems a decent age for that, compared to the strawhats when they were little). Also, at the time the sea train left, we know for a fact Iceburg was 26.  
-Pauly was apprenticed to Iceburg, but we don't know an exact age it started, so I went with that he started at 12, when Iceburg was 28.  
-At the end of this chapter, there's a flashback scene that takes place 7 years ago, meaning Iceburg was 31, Pauly was 15, and Tallie was 11.**

**Kay, I hope that makes it a bit easier to visualize ages and stuff. I drew a timline for myself so I wouldn't mess it up either XD So, without further wait, here is chapter 2.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, because if I did, we'd be seeing a lot more Zoro in the coming manga chapters D:**

* * *

"Nmaa, are you all right Tallie?" Iceburg had come to the mansion that doubled as both his house and Galley-La HQ when he heard what transpired.

I was sitting on a chair in his office, holding a wad of paper towels to the cut on my neck. He was seated at the desk. "I'm fine, it just won't stop bleeding. Stupid dirt I was in makes it sting."

"You mean you didn't clean it yet? It will get infected and smart even worse."

I just narrowed my eyes at the first aid box on the stand to the right of my chair. "It'll hurt."

"Nmaa," Iceburg sighed, standing up and walking over to said evil supplies. "You're not little anymore. Being scared isn't a good excuse."

"Worked when I was eleven and came over here in the middle of the night. Why can't it work now that I'm seventeen?" I edged away from him and pushed the towels harder against the right side of my neck, hoping that if it stopped bleeding, he'd leave me alone.

"Shameless woman!" I head a shout from elsewhere in the building. That and something about wearing long pants.

"Is that Pauly?" I asked, not taking my eyes off Iceburg as he opened the demon box.

"Nmaa, yes. He is against women showing skin."

"Wow...he's like...an anti guy." Iceburg just laughed quietly. "No, seriously, I thought all guys were like, 'Yay boobs and ass.' Or at least didn't mind it. It's weird."

"Pauly is a bit eccentric there," he replied, pouring alcohol on some cotton. Now, I don't know what it is, but there's some magical quality about cotton that lets it soak up mass amount of liquid without dripping any of it out. Unfortunately for me, this meant all of that painful liquid would be going straight on my slightly open wound.

"No way Iceburg-san," I said as he tried to bring the cotton to my neck. He just ignored me, so I let go of the paper towels to grab his wrists, halting him, for the moment, from coming any closer with it.

"Nmaa, Tallie, at least keep those against your neck."

"Nu-uh, if I let go, you'll just grab that evil liquid with the other hand and hurt me."

"You make it sound as if I enjoy torturing you," he sighed, easily taking his left wrist out of my grip to discard the bloody towels that were on my shoulder (from falling off my neck) and replacing them with a wad of gauze on my cut.

"Attack in Iceburg-san's office! Help!" I shouted, while Iceburg just rolled his eyes and smiled at the lengths I'd go just to avoid the unavoidable.

"Iceburg-san! What's going on?" Pauly had run in a few moments later, expecting the worst. Even his rope was already snaking its way into his hands.

I was still squirming from Iceburg – which was failing miserably since I was sitting in a chair only holding his right wrist and he was standing over me lightly pressing gauze to my neck. "He's trying to kill me! Help!"

"Nmaa, Tallie just doesn't want to clean her cut since it will hurt," Iceburg supplied, ignoring my outburst. "Could you help? It will only take a few seconds, if that." Pauly readily agreed, seeing as no one was actually being hurt and appeared to be amused by the whole thing.

"Traitor," I growled as he stood behind the chair and grabbed my wrists. Turning to Iceburg I said, "I'll bite you. Come any closer and I will. I'll kidnap Tyrannosaurus and hold him for ransom. I'll-"

In the midst of my threats, Iceburg held my head to the side (obviously to avoid being bitten if I meant what I said) and gently swiped the soaked cotton across my cut, cleaning out the dirt that could cause it to get worse.

"Owowowowow," I gritted my teeth as my neck burned intensely from the alcohol on the open wound. But almost as soon as it started, it was over.

"All that for half a second of cleaning?" Pauly asked curiously as Iceburg handed me some clean gauze.

"Ridiculous, isn't she?" he said, then turned to me. "The cut wasn't even that big, so the bleeding's almost stopped completely."

"I'm not talking to you," I muttered angrily, using a few small pieces of medical tape to hold the gauze in place. Then, noticing Pauly, "Either of you."

Iceburg just handed Tyrannosaurus to Pauly before he went to sit back at his desk. "Nmaa, just give him to her and she'll be fine."

"Uh, okay?" Pauly went to just drop the small white animal in my hands, but I shook my head. Opening his hands so that Tyrannosaurus was on his palms, I put my fingers under his, letting the mouse walk over to me. If I was paying attention, I might have seen a faint red creeping up his tanned neck.

"You guys are cheaters," I mumbled as Tyrannosaurus let out a contented squeak at being petted, oblivious to my threats of holding him hostage. I childishly stuck my tongue out at Iceburg who did the same in return. I then flipped upside down so my shoes (which, in my opinion, were an awesome cross between sailor slippers and low top sneakers) were hanging over the back of the chair and my head a few inches above the ground. "What happened to that pirate anyway?"

"Someone took him in for his bounty," Pauly answered. "The eight million berries were plenty for the minor repair we did. Funny thing was, the crew didn't seem to care. Turns out they were planning to mutiny anyway; we just did them the favor of taking out their captain for them. Whoever was the first mate is now the captain and they sailed out once news of the captain being captured had spread around."

"Serves him right," I mumbled as Tyrannosaurus wandered down my body and up to Iceburg's desk. Putting my hands to the ground next to my head, I kicked off lightly, pushing myself into a handstand so I could flip over and stand up.

Well, that was the plan anyway.

As soon as I was in the air, my shirt slipped down a little, revealing the bottom of my grey and black stripped bra. It was at this moment Pauly shouted, "Shameless! Cover up your body!"

"Holyshitwhatthehell," I cursed and, being surprised by Pauly's outcry, fell to my side. "Aw, that so sucked. Damn," I groaned as I sat up and fixed my shirt.

"Indecent woman!" I couldn't help but laugh at how flustered he had gotten. It was just so unexpected. Guess my reaction was odd, because all he did was clench his teeth around his cigar.

"How ungraceful was that?" I sat cross-legged on the floor, grinning at Iceburg. Pauly just huffed and looked to the side, muttering about improper exposure or something like that.

Iceburg replied, "It was fairly horrible."

I laughed, "It wouldn't have been half as bad if I wasn't startled." Looking out the window, I saw it was starting to get dark. "Ugh, I should get home."

"Nmaa, come back tomorrow to put the pictures into frames if you wish."

"No prob," I replied as I stood up and started walking out the door. "See ya later, you too Pauly." Iceburg nodded while Pauly gave a small wave, despite the previous incident.

* * *

_"You're not little anymore."_

"And I'm glad for it," I mumbled to myself as I went to bed in my usual attire: black flannel pants and a tank top. Pulling the covers up to my chin I turned to the side and muttered, "It sucked anyway."

* * *

It was a flawless day in Water 7. Sun was shining, gulls were flying in the sky, business was booming, and several other clichés were taking place as well.

But, to a single eleven-year-old girl bouncing behind a man of twenty eight, it could have been pouring and miserable and she still would have been ecstatic. She wore a pair of worn, tan pants with a long, thin red shirt and sandals while the elder wore black everything – pants, boots, and tee – that differed greatly with his spiky white hair.

"Where're we goin'?" the girl asked, short brown hair blowing in the gentle wind. "Is it important Lato-san?" He just looked down and grinned at her.

"Very important, my dear Tallie. Especially for you."

"For me this time?" the girl inquired happily. "Not for Tsuda?"

"No," Lato replied sadly, "not for Tsuda." Apparently finding who he was looking for, he said, "Come Tallie, I'd like you to meet someone."

The two walked up to another pair of people, one of whom seemed to be expecting them. He was older than Lato, but not by much, and had dark blue hair. A young teenage boy stood next to him, pulling a tee-shirt over his longish blonde hair. "Tallie, this is Iceburg-san."

"Hello," the young girl said boldly to the older man. That was just the kind of person she was, wanting to show she was just as tough as anyone.

"Nmaa, it's nice to meet you," Iceburg grinned and Tallie tentatively smiled back.

"Lato-san," she turned to the man next to her, "don't we have to leave today? The boat's already fixed."

"Yes, the boat will leave today," Lato said, that hint of sadness in his words the girl couldn't notice. "It will leave today."


	3. Left Behind

**A/N: Hello everyone :D and I s'pose thanks for reading this again XD (especially EchoesXGrace for reviewing *gives a plushie*) Here is the third chapter and I have more stuff to add because I can't think to put it with the other notes I put in the previous chapters XD**

**Mmkay, so, later on you'll read that it says Iceburg's living area in the Galley-La HQ is on the third floor. I was going with that since his room was on the third floor, the rest of his 'house' would be too, since it's odd to just have it all mixed up ._. *imagines a bedroom right next to a conference roon* XD **

**OH! While looking over my notes, I noticed that Tallie comes literally the year after the whole Tom-gets-sent-to-Enies-Lobby-and-Franky-gets-hit-by-train part of the series. It so.....conveniently works with my story it's scary XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, because if I did, we'd see a lot more of Smoker than we do now D:**

* * *

"My little Tallie," Lato kneeled, eye-level with the girl, his blue eyes meeting with her unusual ones – green dusted with gold. "I need to talk to Iceburg-san now. Could you go wait over there?" he pointed to a pile of wood a bit away, so she would be unable to hear them talk.

"Sure," she said, and bounced over to the spot like only an uncoordinated little girl can. After a few minutes of her watching (to which she could only see Iceburg solemnly nod occasionally to whatever Lato was saying) she saw Iceburg turn to the nearby teen as he started to walk over to where she was sitting.

"Hey," he said to her, running a hand through his already slicked back hair. "You hungry? I'm going to get some Mizu Mizu Meat, wanna come?"

The girl just stared suspiciously at him. "Lato-san told me to wait here. We're gonna leave soon."

A dark look came over the boy's face, but disappeared just as fast as it came. "That so? In the ship with the moon figurehead on it?"

"Yep," she said proudly. "So I gotta stay since it's all fixed."

"Ahm...sure, I guess," he said, walking back over and said something to Lato. Lato, in turn, looked over to her and called with a smile, "Go on Tallie, nothing will go wrong." She just tilted her head and when he gave another warm smile, the girl just felt like she had to believe him.

After all, he was her Lato-san. Why would he lie to her?

And so, when the teen came back over, she took his outstretched calloused hand in her tiny smooth one and walked where he led – further into the city, taking the land route.

"What are all those animals in the water?" she asked, gesturing to the canals with her free hand.

"Huh? Oh, those are yagara bulls," he replied, leading her further down a main 'street.' "You sit in the boats that are harnessed to the yagara, and they take you wherever you want."

"Oh." They finally arrived to where the teen wanted to go, a Mizu Mizu Meat stand.

"Just two." He gave the clerk several berries and received two aqueous looking pieces of meat. Handing one to the girl he said, "Here. You're very first Mizu Mizu Meat."

Taking a bite, the girl found it tasted very good, but it felt like an odd cross between steak and gelatin. "Whoa," she giggled, "this is weird."

"You get used to it," he smiled slightly, taking a big chunk out of his own. After sitting quietly for a few moments on a bench in the shade, finishing their food, the two decided to return to Dock 1.

But, as they got close, the girl heard a slight chiming of bells, like the sound the stars would make if they could. "No," she breathed.

"What?"

"The chimes. We only ring the star chimes as we start to leave." Without any warning, she sprinted away from him and through Dock 1, following the sounds of the chimes.

The chimes that meant her crew were leaving.

That meant Lato had begun to leave.

That meant she had been forgotten.

That meant she was now alone.

"Lato-san!" she yelled. "Lato-san! Wait! Where are you goin?!"

Lato!"

LATO!"

LATO-SAN!"

LATO-SAAAAAAAN!"

But they didn't notice the little girl up to her knees in water, calling out repeatedly for the ship's captain. Nor did the ship turn around, ignoring her hopes that they would notice she wasn't there. When she couldn't see the boat anymore, she turned around and walked back to dry land, where the blue-haired man was standing.

"Nmaa, I'm sorry Tallie-chan," Iceburg said, to which she looked at him with a fierce look in her eyes.

"They'll be back," she told him. "Lato-san will notice that I'm not there and come back. He will."

Iceburg just nodded, surprised to see no sadness whatsoever on the young girl's face; she truly believed they would come back for her. "There a small apartment nearby for you to stay until then. It's better than waiting outside." The girl merely replied that she would wait outside for the rest of the day; there's no need for an apartment. Lato-san would be back.

She waited at the shore well into the night, only allowing Iceburg to bring her to the apartment when she could barely stay awake long enough to argue with him.

* * *

The next day, Iceburg found the girl sitting on a barrel, facing the sea. He just sighed, remembering the previous day's conversation.

_I'm not asking you to take her in as your own, or to give her to an orphanage." Lato told Iceburg, then added with a gloomy smile, "Stubborn kid probably wouldn't let you do it anyway."_

_"Did you tell her you were going to leave her?" Iceburg's young apprentice asked heatedly, everyone knowing he meant, 'Does she know you're abandoning her alone in a city she knows nothing about?'_

_"It's not like that," Lato tried to explain. "She's just a young girl. We only brought her along since I was taking her best friend, Tsuda, with us. Other than him, she was alone, this dejected, yet tough, little street rat that no one wanted. She lived in the back streets well enough, but the Grand Line is much too dangerous for her. One curious look on deck during a storm could send her slipping off into the ocean. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something like that happened."_

_"Nmaa, so she would be fine living by herself, even though she's that young?"_

_"It's the only way she'd want to live, as far as I know her. Only way she _has_ lived."_

_"I'm starving," the fifteen-year-old grumbled as he started to walk away. "I'm taking the little kid with me to get some food. If she says she needs permission I'll come back to ask you to tell her."_

_You can tell her I said it's alright to go," Lato replied._

_"She's more likely to believe someone she looks up to than a stranger," the teen retorted brusquely, already walking away._

_"Will the boy tell her?" Lato asked._

_Iceburg just shook his head. "I doubt it. Though I can say he doesn't like you. He saw how happy the girl was with you. Nmaa, that's probably why he's taking Tallie along, after hearing what you said."_

_"It's terrible, I will admit it. Even more terrible that I am asking someone I've met only three days ago to help."_

_"When do you plan on leaving?"_

_"Depending if she goes with him, it'd be best to leave now."_

Iceburg just shook his head, knowing that he'd help the girl no matter what that man Lato said.

* * *

If someone listened hard enough, little footsteps could be heard walking towards the Galley-La HQ in the pitch black of night. Also, if that same person listened harder, he would notice that small sniffling noises were being made as well. And, since it was one something in the morning – what the said pitch blackness was the result of – there would be an occasional stumbling sound caused by the perpetrator of the other noises tripping.

A small hand lightly rapped against the front door. Several long moments later it opened, revealing a very surprised and sleepy looking Iceburg.

"Nmaa, hello Tallie," he said, stifling a yawn, as if it were the most normal thing to have a child knocking at his door in the middle of the night.

The usual fierce look on her face was a complete opposite of the tears trailing down her face. "...I-I'm sorry, -hic- I'll go b-back now; you're -hic- t-tired." She furiously wiped her eyes to make it look like she was fine, despite the hiccupping from the tears.

"No, come in," he stepped to the side and she hesitantly walked in. "I could make some hot chocolate if you'd like." The young girl just nodded and followed Iceburg to the third floor where his living area was, reaching out and grabbing the sleeve of his gray nightshirt.

When they arrived at the third floor he led her to a living room-esque area that connected to a small kitchen. She went to the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest while he went to make the cocoa. When it was done, he poured two mugs and sat at the couch as well.

"The sounds are different here," she muttered after sipping a bit from her mug, unwilling to admit she was a bit scared of the new city. "Did Lato-san hate me?" she asked suddenly.

Iceburg placed his untouched mug on the coffee table in front of them. "No, he seemed to care for you very much. He thought it was best for you to stay here."

"Tsuda's only ten," the girl replied, also putting her drink on the table, and wrapped her arms around her knees, "but he wasn't left here...Everyone said my parents left because they hated me. They said my parents wanted a boy, but got me. They left because they hated me. How could Lato-san leave if he cared for me?" Tears were now falling down her face again.

This girl was not a 'dejected, yet strong, little street rat' as Lato had said. She was just a frightened eleven year old that got left behind.

"Nmaa, would you like to stay here until morning?" Iceburg asked and the girl nodded her reply. She rubbed her eyes again – feeling stupid for crying – then noticed something on the table. It was a blueprint of a ship Iceburg seemed to be working on. Ignoring that, as she herself didn't know about blueprints, she flipped it over, grabbed a pencil on the table and began to draw.

"That's an excellent picture of a yagara," he noted when she finished a few moments later, telling the truth. For a child, the girl drew as if she were a practiced artist.

"They're weird, I like them," she replied, leaning back. Then, she turned to Iceburg, "I must seem pretty weird too, going from crying to saying random things to drawing. What an oddball huh?"

Iceburg just laughed and a few moments later exhaustion got the better of the girl, for she curled up and fell asleep. "Nmaa, with all the oddballs we've had," he said to himself as he covered the girl with a blanket, thinking of his fellow apprentice from when he was younger, "one more won't hurt."


	4. Almost Drowning and the Art Shop

**A/N Heylo everyone and here is another chapter of The Artist and the Shipwright. Aaaaaaand.....it's basically a filler chapter D: I'm sorry, I hope it being longer than the other chapters makes up for it. ._.**

**Anyways....what to add here? *thinks* Oh, I realized that there's not been a lot of Pauly in the _Pauly_ fanfic. Don't worry, I'll make it up in the next chapter :3 I promise there will be awesomeness in store. And speaking of the next chapter...It might be a little before it gets posted. Not too long, maybe a week or so, but I have to finish writing it. I'm about halfway done and need to revise it and type it and such. So it might take a bit longer than usual. And I think you'll all hate me for it too... (Just wait....you'll know what I mean)**

**A little fun fact, I never intended for Iceburg to be as big of a character as he is in the story, but he was just so fun to write I had to put him in more XD Oh wells, he's way cool :D But I digress so, here we go.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, because if I did, chapters would be longer than 19 pages**

Eyes closed, lying down in a boat on a yagara, hands trailing in the water, I was the model of relaxation. And all it took was some berries to rent a yagara bull for a while.

It is also the only thing that makes me look like I'm fine when in reality I'm not. _Yeah, now _that_ doesn't make me sound like an angsty teenager at all._ What a pansy, having some terrible dreams about when I was little and now I'm uselessly depressed.

I should definitely get over it. Definitely.

"This is so _frustrating_," I groaned, pressing the heels of my palms against my forehead.

_I'll just treat myself to something yummy, like yogurt._ I dipped my hands back in the cool water, thinking of my favorite food. _Then I'll draw Tyrannosaurus, or Iceburg, or both of them, whatever._

_Or Pauly. He'd be quite..._interesting_ to draw. I'd have to find a way to irk him while doing it though. A well placed pool with female swimmers would be most convenient._

I snorted at the thought and felt my mood increase a little. I could just imagine his face: eyes wide open (or tightly closed, it depends) and red faced. That would be lovely to draw. I grinned. _Totally need to trick Pauly into going to a pool in the middle of the day sometime._

"Tallie?" I sat up and looked towards where the sound came from. _Speak of the devil._

"Hey Pauly," I smiled, telling my yagara to go to the walk where he was standing. "Why aren't you at the dock?"

"Uh, long story," he said as I carefully climbed out of the boat, sending the yagara bull back.

"That horrible huh? What'd you do, walk into a room full of lingerie models?"

"I was being chased by creditors," he scowled, cleverly avoiding my comment. I just started laughing. "What?"

"Creditors? Chasing you?" I said between giggles. "That's so...unexpected."

"How so?"

"Have you ever heard how people gossip about the Dock 1 foremen? They talk like you guys are gods or something."

He raised an eyebrow at me, "So you laugh because creditors are unexpectedly after a Dock 1 foreman?"

"No, I laugh because it's nice to know that people are wrong."

"Was that a compliment or should I be offended?" he said, slightly tilting his head.

I grinned, "Neither."

"Then what's the point?"

"There is none, that's the point."

"The point is that there's no point?"

"Exactly, you see my point."

Pauly just shook his head, "You are one bizarre girl."

"I am deeply offended by that," I said, taking a step back and raising my hands.

Well, I would've stepped back if there wasn't _a giant canal directly behind me._

Almost right before I would've splashed down into the water to my untimely demise, Pauly grabbed my arms (I reflexively groped forward as I fell) and pulled me back up.

I was currently holding on to his forearms for dear life.

"O-oi, you okay?" Pauly asked, since it probably looked like I was having a panic attack with a death grip on his arms.

"Yeah," I exhaled, "just give me a sec, I almost died."

He looked at me oddly, "You almost died...by falling into a canal?"

"Sort of can't swim," I muttered, and, realizing I was still awkwardly holding onto Pauly, let go of him.

"You hang around the docks all the time and you don't know how to swim?" he asked as we began to proceed down the sidewalk.

"It's not that I don't know how to swim," I said, shoving my hands into the pockets of my capris. "I can swim decently enough I s'pose. It's just that, I don't know, I freak out and can't do anything if I fall in or something. It's 'cause I fell into a river when I was nine and almost died. Now, when it comes to water, the slightest thing can cause me to panic. Drowning is scary."

Pauly nodded, "Must be terrible though, not being able to swim."

"I swim sometimes," I replied. "You know the company pool? When it's really hot outside I go there since not a lot of people are in the pool to freak me out. Oh!" I interrupted myself as I dashed into a nearby shop, Pauly slowly following me.

"Hey, gramps!" I yelled into the small art shop, looking at the walls filled with paint, charcoal, pastels, watercolor sets, and everything else you could possibly think of to make a picture with.

"Who're ya callin' gramps, brat?" a man walked out, clothes spattered with paint.

"You, old man," I retorted, smirking.

"I'm not that old," he grumbled. "Barely just turned thirty-five."

"That's why I call you gramps, 'cause you're old."

He just shook a finger at me "Iceburg is thirty-seven already, an' ya don't call him old."

I stuck out my tongue, "Because he doesn't call me brat and shake his finger at me like an old person would. Besides," I shrugged, "Iceburg-san's too cool to be old anyway."

"Brat," the man muttered, then looked to me. "Is that what ya brought yer boyfriend here for? So he can listen to ya rant like a lunatic?"

"He's not my boyfriend," I hissed at him, before Pauly had time to correct the man himself. But, since the comment wasn't directed at him, he didn't turn the light shade of pink I had. "I kidnapped him, there's a difference."

"What?" Pauly asked, getting into the conversation. "When was I kidnapped?"

"Don't think ya could kidnap a Dock 1 foreman either kid," the man said while I scowled. "Yer good, but yer not that good."

"Wait, how'd you know he was a Dock 1 foreman?"

He just ruffled my hair, handing me a new sketchpad. "Yer probably the only person in the whole city that don't know who they are. Ya live in the moment, an' they weren't in yer moments 'til now."

"You even talk like an old person," I grumbled, but realized he was right in a way. It explained why I always got lost and didn't know who Pauly or Kaku were when I was at Dock 1.

"What'd ya say?!"

"I said you even talk like an old person, geez." I laughed as I snitched a pencil off the counter and began to walk out the door. "I owe you two drawings next time I come back." The shopkeeper just grumbled and returned to his store.

"What was that about?" Pauly asked as he blew smoke into the air from his cigar.

"I met the old guy when I was little," I replied as we neared Dock 1. "Long story short, I draw him pictures to put around his shop and he gives me sketchbooks and pencils."

"Crap," Pauly said suddenly as two figures approached us. Well, more like approached him. Didn't seem like they cared too much about me.

"Pauly!" one of them shouted and they started to run.

"Oh shit," he cursed, turning the other direction. "I'll see you later Tallie." And with that, he sprinted off, his creditors in hot pursuit.

"Get back here Pauly!" one shouted.

"Just give me a few more days!" Pauly roared back. I smirked and walked to the dock, saying hi to Kaku as I passed him.

"Iceburg-san around here anywhere?" I asked.

"Yes, over by the new ship that was finished yesterday. He's talking with Lucci I believe." I thanked him and he smiled in return. At least, he smiled from what I could tell; his hat and collar made it a bit difficult to see his face.

As I neared the ship I had spent the last few weeks drawing (so the pictures could be put up on an empty wall at Galley-La HQ. It all started when I was bored and wanted to know what Iceburg thought would be cool there), I saw Iceburg talking to a man with black curly hair and a pigeon on his shoulder, while Kalifa stood nearby.

I was going to take a (not so) wild guess and say the black haired man was Lucci. _I'd be eaten alive by fangirls if they knew I had no clue who these people were._ And by fangirls I mean if a "Dock 1 Foremen Fanclub" came into existence there would be quite a few people that would join.

Anyway, I waited patiently for them to finish their conversation since I knew next to nothing about ships and would be a useless lump while they talked if I tried to participate. All I understood was that the keel was super important, and I only found that out because, as I drew the boat, that's where the shipwrights started everything. I still haven't the faintest idea what the correct names of the sides of a ship are. Front has the masthead and the back doesn't. That's all I need to know.

After a few moments they were done and I walked over to Iceburg. "Hello," I said to everyone (though I sort of shied away from Kalifa, she intimidated me a little).

"Prupuu!" the pigeon cooed. "Hello, how are you?"

"Omigosh, it talked! That's so rad!" I exclaimed, then said to the bird, "Well, I'm good I guess. What's your name?"

"I am Hatori," the bird twittered as he bowed. Then, gesturing to the man with the top hat whose shoulder he was perched upon, "This is Rob Lucci."

"Hello Lucci," I said with laughter in my voice and he nodded. This guy was so cool. I mean, a ventriloquist with a bird? Very awesome in my opinion.

"Nmaa, did you need something?" Iceburg asked pleasantly while Kalifa was writing on her clipboard. Lucci and Hattori had left, most likely going to work on another ship.

"Oh, yeah, the pictures. You wanted me to frame them?"

"Yes, all the needed supplies are in my office for you."

"Cool, thanks," I said as I turned to walk back to HQ. "I'll see you later," I waved over my head.

* * *

"It's so hot," I whined as I sat in Iceburg's office, head on the desk. "We're probably gonna get a storm too and that would so suck." The warmth from earlier before had quickly turned into a palpable heat as I had finished the last frames. _Yay for bipolar spring to summer weather._

"Ugh, I'm hot and I'm miserable and I'm _bored_," I muttered, sitting up. I decided to doodle, so I took out my new drawing pad, but then glared at the pencil. "You just had to be broken, huh?"

As I searched through some of the drawers, and completely failing to find a sharpener, I noticed something in the back of the bottom right one.

My eyes grew wide as I shakily pulled the object out. "W-what is this doing here?"


End file.
